No, That photo was actually a few years old. I'm heading out there this week though so maybe I'll get another photo. Last time I flew out there in March I was able to see some fires from the plane. Kinda creepy.

i do not use the built in alignment on my canon, i shoot multiple shots, trying to keep the lens in the same location as i go (would be better with a fancy, expensive tripod, but it can be done handheld with care (all of the above)).

depending on how careful you are, you can minimize alignment artifacts.
i also shoot in manual mode, to control exposure from shot to shot. i take a few test shots, and find a good average exposure, then shoot the entire series with that setting. something i learned after a few exterior shots where i went from overblown skies to too dark shadowed areas.

Wow, amazing what a camera phone can do! (with a competent photographer and subject, of course)

thanks...!
amateur at best.

one thing the stock panorama feature cannot do is lock the exposure. what you start with is what it holds throughout - so when i stitch i usually take some averages and then set the camera to manual and do not change things all the way across.

not sure if some of the third party camera apps can make that happen or not.

There is an Android app called Wondershare Panorama that lets you capture panoramas with one click and sweeping the camera just like the new Iphone does. It also has a bunch of effects you can add to the photos. I recommend it. Here's a picture I took of San Diego from my plane window this afternoon.